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| Another Southampton Independents Campaign |
Unlike Portsmouth and Winchester, Southampton does not have a park and ride for the general public to use.
Southampton Independents has been campaigning for one for years, but the City Council has failed to deliver it.
There is one for staff of Southampton General Hospital. It was built after we met with hospital management years ago, after we had called for a park and ride, and after an inquiry into hospital travel.
And there is something calling itself Southampton Park and Ride, but this is for cruise passengers only.
So despite our long-running campaign, there is still not a Park and Ride for the general public to use.
An ideal site would be at the north-western edge of the City, near to the M271 and not far from the M27. This is where the Hospital staff Park and Ride is located, on Brownhill Way, near the Lidl warehouse and Lidl store.
In 2018, campaigner and former Independent Councillor Andrew Pope called for Lidl to pay for a park and ride, as they were building a store to add to the large warehouse in the same area. He told the Daily Echo:
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| Andrew Pope |
"I want to see what Lidl is going to do for local residents, because Lidl will be making lots of money, so they have to deliver benefits such as improved transport links, a new park and ride, and finally deliver on the promise of sustainability including solar panels on top of the huge local warehouse.
The Labour Council has to make Lidl do this.
Residents and the local area must benefit from the new store, if it goes ahead.”
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| Lidl on Brownhill Way, Southampton |
Councillor Pope also wrote to the Daily Echo about the lack of a Southampton park and ride, and his letter was published. It is copied below.
And in 2013, Councillor Pope led an inquiry into "Public and Sustainable Transport Provision to Southampton General Hospital". This inquiry considered the problem of the volume of car traffic caused by staff at the hospital and its impact on local residents and local streets. It found the huge impact that the hospital has on travel within and around the City of Southampton:
"The Hospital has up to a total of 7500 staff, a number of these work shifts or
are on call. In addition there are University employees and students who
regularly have needed to visit the SGH site. By the size and nature of the
Hospital and its activities, the Trust is one of the major employers in
Southampton. In addition there are in the region of 600,000 patient visits
per annum."
Pope's Inquiry called in local bus companies and hospital staff to give evidence, and recommended that the hospital fully reviewed its Travel Plan. Recommendations were made to the Council and the Cabinet Member for Transport accepted all of the recommendations.
Yet eleven years later, there is still no Park and Ride.
Andrew says:
"We've listened to residents and businesses who are fed up with the constant road chaos caused by Councillor Eamonn Keogh and the Labour-run Council failing to take the action that works. In fact, Keogh has constantly caused chaos instead of reducing it.
Southampton Independents will carry on our campaign for a Park and Ride for Southampton. Get in touch to give us your support and your views on it."
READER LETTER: Cllr Andrew Pope: 'No park-and-ride, no clean air and no leadership at city council'
RESIDENTS are fed up with the lack of action on clean air from successive administrations of both Southampton City Council and the government.
All we hear about are task forces, networks and strategies.
As your editorial rightly points out, it seems that drastic action is now needed. Why? Because over so many years – decades residents tell us – all they've offered is talk and delay. And they are only talking about drastic measures now because the courts are forcing them to.
No park-and-ride like other local cities. No clean air. No leadership. And the council approves more warehouses and HGVs and brings more pollution from the sea, from the land and from the air.
All their pathetic measures have delivered thus far are more illness and death.
This is proven by the council's own reports, including one that went to cabinet on Tuesday when it considered the Clean Air Zone. It states that parts of Southampton, and Redbridge in particular, have respiratory illnesses above the average for Southampton, including for children at our local schools that are next to major roads.
Once again, it is Labour or Tory, same old story. It is no wonder, then, that both the Labour and Tory leaders were both voted out at the council elections last month.
Labour almost lost the Redbridge seat to Southampton independents and control of the council. There were only 199 votes that prevented both from happening.
Nobody cares really who pays for the measures, but it should not be those who can least afford it.
Don't residents and businesses pay enough council tax and business rates already?
Councillor Andrew Pope
Southampton independent councillor for Redbridge Ward